The use of protective gloves having some form of protective padding on the palms is well known. One such glove disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,809 (Mah) describes a protective glove formed with a plurality of digital sheaths distally projecting from between the back and palmar portions for use on the hand of a wearer. Another prior art specialty glove is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,100 (DeMarco). The DeMarco patent describes a glove having a friction patch in the palmar portion of the glove. U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,387 (Lopez) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,625 (Keim) describe gloves having friction pads situated on the palm side of the glove and providing friction for the wearer during sporting activities.
Each of the above-mentioned prior art gloves and other prior art gloves provide padding on the palm side of the glove, mainly to provide better friction for the wearer. In other prior art glove implementations, the extra padding or extra protective material is applied to the palm side of the glove to protect the wearer from sharp or abrasive materials. Although these prior art gloves provided padding in various shapes and configurations, these prior art implementations did not recognize the need to protect the Median and Ulnar nerves extending from the wrist into the hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,901 (O'Brien) describes an ergonomic palmar support apparatus. The O'Brien apparatus is an arch support for the palm side of the hand made of sufficiently rigid material so that it will distribute loads supported by the hand across a wider surface of the palm of the hand, particularly by spanning the carpel tunnel and Guyon's canal to avoid damage to the Median and Ulnar nerves. The O'Brien patent disclosure recognized that hand injuries, particularly those encountered while bicycle riding, resulted from compression of the Ulnar nerve and Median nerve in Guyon's canal. However, O'Brien does not recognize that hand and wrist position is also important in preventing damage to the Ulnar and Median nerves. Further, O'Brien does not disclose a glove. Rather, the O'Brien apparatus is a rigid arch support for the hand.
Thus, a padded glove for protecting and properly positioning the hand of a wearer is needed.